Silver Lake reservoir pathway takes a step toward completion*

The final section of the Tesla Avenue Path, an approximately 500 foot-long concrete sidewalk on the north end of the Ivanhoe Reservoir, was poured into place during the past week. But the missing link in the pathway that circles the Ivanhoe and Silver Lake reservoirs is still not officially open to the public, with signs and orange traffic cones marking off the buff-colored sidewalk. Still to be installed is a chain link fence atop a new retaining wall and a few benches along the new sidewalk, which got underway in early June. After all those traffic cones and remaining barricades are removed, will that six-foot wide sidewalk be wide enough for all those runners, walkers, dogs and baby strollers?

* Update: Helen Grace Olivares, a DWP mechanical engineer working on the project, the path won’t be officially complete until mid October after some detail work, including the installation of sprinklers and other items, is finished.

Looks nice, but it’s still not wide enough given the sheer quantity of people who use this. It has nothing do with manners, James, it’s just not wide enough. They should leave the street one way and keep that buffer zone that’s there now for joggers, who like to run over everybody else.

Wow..give us credit for the change people once we moved inn things been changing for better n nicer ..call us Hipsters grengos whites or wonder breads but because of us there is change..Obama said time for change I’m still waiting..Go Romney n yes he has Mexican in him not just white…beautify Silverlake ..

That’s funny, people have been jogging and walking around the reservoir for decades before there was an official path. I don’t recall there being a big public outcry because sometimes you had to step around somebody. People had to run in the street part of the way, and they had to watch out for cars. I gather a lot more people have discovered Silver Lake and there are more users now, but why make a huge deal of how wide the path is? It’s done, people should be grateful and share it politely like grownups. If you don’t like being around a lot of people when you use the path, and don’t like some peoples’ manners, go earlier or later in the day.

I am encouraged by the public interest in this little stretch of sidewalk, and there is obvious need for it is why it is getting built. I am an operations manager at DWP and have been involved with trying to move this ahead for many years and through many various approaches. I just want to let everyone know that we did look hard at the width of the sidewalk, and although at 6′ it is as wide as you might normally encounter on a street, it is a lot narrower than most of the rest of the SL pathway and certainly may be a challenge during busy times. However, we were structurally limited by how much we could “notch” the foot of the Ivanhoe Dam, which we had to cut into and reinforce to make sidewalk space out of the driving lanes. DWP was fortunate to get to cut into it at all, so we took all we could and created at least some avenue for people to escape the cars. And our crews have done some really nice work. Thanks to all for caring and DWP hopes this “missing link” will provide a much safer experience for all. As far as ideas about the street itself… that is beyond DWP’s purvue. (BTW, benches will be on the ends where it is widens out)

Marty’s right, so stop kvetching. Reminds me of the story of two women meeting on the street, one with a boy in tow and the other carrying a bag of groceries. The woman with the groceries pulls an apple out of her bag and gives it to the boy.

His mother says, “so what do you say to the nice lady for that big red apple, sonny?”

Marty is right, this path was constrained by what the state would allow. Meanwhile, the DWP has done a terrific job on this and has helped make it an asset to our beloved Reservoirs. Strange how commenters are so quick to find something negative about a project that is a safety improvement with some nice amenities, like benches at the end and some new public space. The Silver Lake Reservoirs Conservancy helped make this the best solution to a challenging problem that has taken years to resolve. Whether the street will continue as one-way will be up to Councilmember Tom LaBonge and the City agencies.

Attn: Landsnark, aka Marianne once again anything that the community at large works for always end up being a a Silver Lake Reservoir Consernancy project ? Yea Yea Yea, I know your reply same old tired reply about being the voice of the community . Bla Bla Bla As for as the Tesla path check your note boys and find the memo about how you were pushing the elevated boardwalk, which was not vetted with the community and you all refused to vote on anything at community meetings.

Why on earth would the Conservancy, or any neighborhood group that actually accomplishes anything, want to work with you, you who claim to be about the community, aka the anti-public space folks? You ought to check your notes and understand that most of Silver Lake has realized that you NIMBYs of Save the Meadow who wanted to keep the Reservoir closed off from anyone (except of course when you of Save the Meadow wanted it to become your private park) are now a large and loud contingent of the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council. You’ve tainted the Council. How many of the estimated 30,000 people in Silver Lake actually vote in the Neighborhood Council elections? I’d guess probably not even close to enough to claim that the Council speaks for the community. But I guess when you don’t have any ideas or ideas like how yoga in the Meadow is bad for the community, you have to use the perceived power of the great Silver Lake Neighborhood Council to get anyone to even listen to you.

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